Hypocrisy is at the heart and soul of the NCAA, so that august organization will simply continue to pretend that gambling has nothing to do with its multi-billion dollar industry that is, in many ways, driven by sports betting.

_________________Make lots of noise
Kiss lots of boys
Or kiss lots of girls
If that's something you're into
When the straight and narrow
Gets a little too straight
Roll up a joint, or don't
Just follow your arrow
Wherever it points, yeah
Follow your arrow
Wherever it points

If more states approve sports betting, why does that bolster the chances of Las Vegas being the permanent home to the Women's Final Four? I would think that the Supreme Court decision would make it more likely that other locations could provide an attractive home.

If more states approve sports betting, why does that bolster the chances of Las Vegas being the permanent home to the Women's Final Four? I would think that the Supreme Court decision would make it more likely that other locations could provide an attractive home.

Not sure but I believe Debbie is promoting having the S16 in Vegas. Very few sites can offer the reasonable costs/ample hotel rooms/variety of diversions in Vegas.

And it would end all the bull shit manipulations the selection committee uses involving which region teams get placed and allow something closer to a true S curve.

If more states approve sports betting, why does that bolster the chances of Las Vegas being the permanent home to the Women's Final Four? I would think that the Supreme Court decision would make it more likely that other locations could provide an attractive home.

The answer is simple. The NCAA currently bars championship events on the basis that Nevada has legal betting on sports. Once more states decide to legalize sports betting the NCAA will no longer be able to maintain its rule, unless they want to ban several more states.

Las Vegas has so many reasons to be considered as a host, availability of affordable rooms, other entertainment options for visitors, world class venues and easy accessibility from anywhere by air. I'm not sure that making it an annual event is the way to go, but at this point the NCAA has lost its "war" on sports betting. It should start thinking about how Las Vegas can help its championships.

Societies have always legislated against activities that the majority of voters believe to be immoral. Under the U.S. federal system the only question is whether this legislation is constitutionally permissible at the state level, the federal level, or both.

Since I believe gambling to be immoral for several reasons, including its inexorable negative financial impact on the least wealthy classes of society, I am in favor of legislation that prohibits gambling.

Moral preferences aside, I don't see how legalized online gambling would "help" WCBB or WNBA attendance. It would certainly help the bookie industry.

Moral preferences aside, I don't see how legalized online gambling would "help" WCBB or WNBA attendance. It would certainly help the bookie industry.

Sure it would. Gamblers require information about the things they are gambling on. They want regular injury and transaction reports, and want advanced stats and quality background information. This increase in demand leads to media outlets increasing their coverage. And the higher the league's profile the more attendance it will draw.

Moral preferences aside, I don't see how legalized online gambling would "help" WCBB or WNBA attendance. It would certainly help the bookie industry.

Sure it would. Gamblers require information about the things they are gambling on. They want regular injury and transaction reports, and want advanced stats and quality background information. This increase in demand leads to media outlets increasing their coverage. And the higher the league's profile the more attendance it will draw.

Sorry, but I don't buy any link in that chain of argumentation other than that gamblers would want more information on injuries.

First, I don't think there's currently any dearth of information on "background information" or "advanced stats."

Second, just because gamblers may want more information on things like injuries, that doesn't mean teams, governed by medical and other privacy laws and customs, would provide any more information than they provide today.

Third, even if teams did provide marginally more information, why would media carry that information, given the very low demand for information on WBB in general? What media covers WBB at all? Darn little.

Finally, I don't believe some marginally greater media coverage of WBB for the benefit of gamblers and bookies would have any measurable impact on WBB attendance, although it may increase online gambling on the sport. That's because I believe interest in watching WBB or attending WBB games is overwhelmingly controlled by its limited entertainment interest power, which I believe to be unalterably niche and very low. Even RebKell is fizzling.

Gambling is permitted on dog racing. How many people go to dog tracks in the small handful of states that permit it? Both attendance and gambling on dog racing in Florida have been substantially declining over the past 20 years. That's because, fundamentally, the overwhelming majority of people have no interest in watching the "sport".

Moral preferences aside, I don't see how legalized online gambling would "help" WCBB or WNBA attendance. It would certainly help the bookie industry.

Sure it would. Gamblers require information about the things they are gambling on. They want regular injury and transaction reports, and want advanced stats and quality background information. This increase in demand leads to media outlets increasing their coverage. And the higher the league's profile the more attendance it will draw.

You assume that legalizing gambling will increase the amount of gambling. Or at least the amount of gambling done by people willing to research injuries, transactions, advanced stats, and background info. That's a highly questionable proposition.

_________________Make lots of noise
Kiss lots of boys
Or kiss lots of girls
If that's something you're into
When the straight and narrow
Gets a little too straight
Roll up a joint, or don't
Just follow your arrow
Wherever it points, yeah
Follow your arrow
Wherever it points

Legalizing gambling by other states will most likely increase overall betting on the WNBA, but it will not be dramatic. The WNBA is a niche sport so it is unclear how much gambling there might be. First, it is unclear what type of gambling would be allowed. While I suspect New Jersey will go full scale sports books in their casinos, other states may just allow parlay cards or other limited betting options. I doubt that type of wagering would attract any women's basketball betting. I also doubt that NCAA games, other than the tournament or nationally televised games, will attract enough interest to garner legalized betting.

Perhaps the biggest issue is whether states will allow internet wagering or wagering across state lines. I doubt that states will legalize unless they get some revenue, and depending on how greedy states are this may limit the options that make financial sense. One of the proposals is to take 1% of gross bets for a sports integrity unit. That represents 25% of profits on even money bets, and that is before any state taxes.

It will be a long time before sports gambling truly impacts women's basketball.